My TijarahThe FluencyWorkbook
Eight sheets to fill in while you readThe Road to Fluency in Arabic.
The companion to the guide
Print it. Write on it. Print it again.
There is nothing to read in here. Take the sheet you have use for today, fill it, and start another when it is full.
Every sheet names the part of The Road to Fluency in Arabic it belongs to. Keep that page open beside you while you work, and the two are built to be used at the same time.
Print single sided. The one sheet goes on the wall; everything after it is for the pen.
- 01The one sheetNothing. It goes on the wall.The verb, in ten shapes
- 02The root sheetPrint again as neededOne root, and the family it makesOne root, a whole family
- 03The ten shapesPrint again as neededOne root, bent ten waysThe verb, in ten shapes
- 04The sentence sheetPrint again as neededOne line of Arabic, taken apartEight ideas that open sentences
- 05The word logPrint again as neededWords you meet, as you meet themA hundred words, half the Qur’an
- 06The review sheetPrint again as neededWhat is due, and whenHow to stop forgetting
- 07Out loudPrint again as neededSentences of your own makingThe daily habit
- 08Your own handOne line, revisited over monthsSix steps, and no stopwatch
One thing worth knowing
Six of these sheets are meant to run out. A full one is not a thing to keep tidy, it is a thing to replace, so print the ones you use most in small stacks and keep them where you study.
The one sheet
The two tables you will keep reaching for.
Print this page on its own and put it where you study, so the guide can stay shut.
The verb, in ten shapes
| Shape | Pattern | What the shape adds |
|---|---|---|
| I | فَعَلَfa’ala | The bare meaning of the rootعَلِمَ he knew |
| II | فَعَّلَfa’’ala | Made to happen, or done intenselyعَلَّمَ he taught |
| III | فَاعَلَfa’ala | Done to or with another partyجَاهَدَ he strove against |
| IV | أَفْعَلَaf’ala | Caused to happenأَنْزَلَ he sent down |
| V | تَفَعَّلَtafa’’ala | Form two, turned back on the doerتَعَلَّمَ he learned |
| VI | تَفَاعَلَtafa’ala | Done to one anotherتَعَاوَنَ they helped one another |
| VII | اِنْفَعَلَinfa’ala | It happened, with no doer namedاِنْشَقَّ it split apart |
| VIII | اِفْتَعَلَifta’ala | Done for oneself, or with effortاِسْتَمَعَ he listened |
| IX | اِفْعَلَّif’alla | Colours, and little elseاِسْوَدَّ it turned black |
| X | اِسْتَفْعَلَistaf’ala | Seeking or asking for the meaningاِسْتَغْفَرَ he sought forgiveness |
Eight questions to ask of any word
- 1Is this word a noun, a verb or a particle?اسم فعل حرف
- 2What are its root letters?الجذر
- 3What shape is it in, and what does that shape add?الوزن
- 4Is there a verb in this sentence at all?الجملة الاسمية
- 5Are two nouns joined together here? Which owns which?الإضافة
- 6Is a pronoun fastened to the end of it, and whose?الضمائر
- 7What ending is on it, and what put it there?الإعراب
- 8Read it again, looking nothing up. What does it say?السياق
One root, ten words
ع ل م
The idea of knowing
عَلِمَ
he knew
عَلَّمَ
he taught
تَعَلَّمَ
he learned
اِسْتَعْلَمَ
he enquired
عِلْم
knowledge
عَالِم
a scholar
مُعَلِّم
a teacher
مَعْلُوم
known
تَعْلِيم
teaching
عَلِيم
all knowing
The root sheet
One root, and the family it makes.
In the guide
One root, a whole family
This one is filled in, using the root the guide draws. The sheet after it is the same shape, empty.
The root
What it is about
The idea of knowing
Shape I
عَلِمَ
he knew
Shape II
عَلَّمَ
he taught
Shape V
تَعَلَّمَ
he learned
Shape X
اِسْتَعْلَمَ
he enquired
The bare noun
عِلْم
knowledge
The doer
عَالِم
a scholar
The doer, shape II
مُعَلِّم
a teacher
The one it is done to
مَعْلُوم
known
The act itself
تَعْلِيم
teaching
The intensive
عَلِيم
all knowing
The root sheet
One root, and the family it makes.
In the guide
One root, a whole family
Take a root you keep meeting. Fill what you can, leave the rest, and come back to the sheet when you meet another member of the family.
The root
What it is about
Shape I
Shape II
Shape V
Shape X
The bare noun
The doer
The doer, shape II
The one it is done to
The act itself
The intensive
The ten shapes
One root, bent ten ways.
In the guide
The verb, in ten shapes
The patterns are printed, the root is yours. Not every root exists in every shape, so leave the ones that do not.
The root
What it is about
The sentence sheet
One line of Arabic, taken apart.
In the guide
Eight ideas that open sentences
Copy out a line you read today, then walk along it word by word and answer what you can.
The line
Where it is fromThe word log
Words you meet, as you meet them.
In the guide
A hundred words, half the Qur’an
Fill a row when you meet a word while reading, rather than copying one out of a list. Leave the root and the shape blank if you cannot find them yet.
The review sheet
What is due, and when.
In the guide
How to stop forgetting
Write the word, the shape or the rule on the left. Tick a box only when you brought it back without looking. If you could not, start it again on a fresh row.
Out loud
Six sentences of your own.
In the guide
The daily habit
Built out of whatever you studied today. Write it, then say it. On your own is fine, and a mistake made out loud is one somebody can correct.
Your own hand
The same line, months apart.
In the guide
Six steps, and no stopwatch
Pick one line of Arabic today and write it at the top. Every few months, come back and put down what you can make of it with no help. Finish the new row before you read the old ones.
The line
Where it is fromDate
What I can make of it today
Date
What I can make of it today
Date
What I can make of it today
Date
What I can make of it today
Date
What I can make of it today
The part a workbook cannot do
Somebody has to check these.
You can fill every sheet in here on your own, and most of what you write will be right. The difficulty is the rest of it. You cannot hear your own accent, and a page you felt you understood looks exactly like a page you did understand. Take your filled sheets into a lesson and that gap closes in minutes.
My Tijarah
Bring these to a teacher this week.
Vetted, qualified Qur'an and Arabic teachers, one to one, matched to your level and your week. Your first lesson is free, so you can see what it feels like before you decide anything.
Find your teacher→mytijarah.co.uk
My Tijarah